No Signal
Originally published on Gimme Some Torah by Rabbi Eli Garfinkel on October 22, 2026.
Remember this bad boy?
וַֽיהֹוָ֞ה אָמַ֣ר אֶל־אַבְרָ֗ם אַחֲרֵי֙ הִפָּֽרֶד־ל֣וֹט מֵֽעִמּ֔וֹ שָׂ֣א נָ֤א עֵינֶ֙יךָ֙ וּרְאֵ֔ה מִן־הַמָּק֖וֹם אֲשֶׁר־אַתָּ֣ה שָׁ֑ם צָפֹ֥נָה וָנֶ֖גְבָּה וָקֵ֥דְמָה וָיָֽמָּה׃
And GOD said to Abram, after Lot had parted from him, “Raise your eyes and look out from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west,
Abraham and Lot have settled their feud; Lot chose the grazing lands contiguous with Sodom, leaving Abraham the Land of Canaan. The Torah then says, “And GOD said to Abram, after Lot had parted from him, “Raise your eyes and look out from where you are…”
Rashi’s question is, “Why does the Torah need to say that God spoke to Abraham after Lot had parted from him?” The exact timing of God’s words seems superfluous, so what use do these words serve?” Rashi’s answer is based on a quotation from Midrash Tanḥuma:
AFTER LOT WAS SEPARATED FROM HIM — So long as the wicked (Lot) was with him the word of God kept away from him (i. e. God had no communion with Abraham).
Birds of a feather flock together. (If no one ever taught you English idioms, go here.) If you hang out with wicked people, it is a good indication that you yourself are evil or that you are headed in that direction.
As long as Abraham was physically near Lot and in communication with him, he could not commune with the Holy One. It did not matter that Abraham was opposed to what Lot was doing in every way—his mere presence in Lot’s vicinity was enough to sever the connection with God. It was as if Abraham were trying to speak to God but received a “no signal” notification.
Both Democrats and Republicans would be wise to take this idea to heart. Both parties have allowed Jew-haters to enter their ranks. On either side of the aisle, the leadership is asking American Jews to ignore these intruders and vote for the party anyway.
We must not ignore this situation when we vote. Asking us to tolerate this state of affairs is immoral and unfair.
As my father used to say, “Putthatin your pipe and smoke it.”
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